Breakdown of Tämän uuden teoksen luo vanha kirjailija.
tämä
this
vanha
old
uusi
new
teos
work of art / piece
luoda
to create
kirjailija
author / writer
Questions & Answers about Tämän uuden teoksen luo vanha kirjailija.
Why is the English translation in the passive voice (is created by) when the Finnish sentence is active?
In English, we often use the passive voice to shift the focus of a sentence onto the object. Finnish can achieve this exact same focus simply by moving the object to the front of the sentence (Object-Verb-Subject word order). The Finnish verb luo is active, but this OVS word order is usually best translated into English using the passive.
How do we know that Tämän uuden teoksen is the object and not the subject?
The word endings give it away. The phrase is in the accusative case (which looks like the genitive here, ending in -n), marking it as the total object of the action. The actual subject of the sentence, vanha kirjailija, is in the basic nominative form.
Why is the subject, vanha kirjailija, at the very end of the sentence?
In Finnish, the beginning of a sentence is the topic (what we are talking about) and the end of the sentence is reserved for the new or most important information. By putting vanha kirjailija last, the sentence highlights the identity of the creator as the key piece of new information.
Wait, isn't luo a postposition meaning to or towards?
They look exactly the same, but in this sentence, luo is the third-person singular present tense of the verb luoda (to create). You can tell it is the verb here because it is the only word that can provide the action linking the object and the subject.
Learn Tämän uuden teoksen luo vanha kirjailija and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free